For years, the people of the Volta Region and travellers passing through it have endured the infuriating and unjustified presence of inland immigration posts and police barriers.
These checkpoints scattered at Asikuma, Sogakope, Juapong, and other locations serve no real security purpose. Instead, they have become instruments of harassment, economic disruption, and blatant discrimination against a region that has long suffered from this needless scrutiny.
A needless waste of time
The situation is particularly absurd on the stretch between the Adomi Bridge and Ho, where travelers must endure six and sometimes seven security checkpoints manned by Immigration, Customs, Police, and other agencies.
This excessive concentration of checkpoints on a single route transforms what should be a simple journey into an exhausting gauntlet of stops, document checks, and unnecessary interrogations.
Anyone who frequently travels to or through the Volta Region knows the frustration of being stopped repeatedly at these checkpoints. Buses are forced to halt, passengers are ordered to disembark, and individuals are subjected to interrogations about their nationality as if being Ghanaian in the Volta Region is somehow suspicious. These delays add unnecessary hours to journeys that should be smooth and efficient.
Why must travellers prove their citizenship multiple times on a single trip? Why must market women, students, and professionals waste precious time complying with redundant checks that exist nowhere else in the country? The answer is simple: there is no justification.
These posts were initially set up due to exaggerated fears of secessionist activity, but that threat has long dissipated. What remains is a system designed to inconvenience and intimidate.
Killing regional tourism and trade
The Volta Region is home to stunning landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and thriving markets. Yet, these checkpoints are a deterrent to tourism and commerce. Tourists, both local and international, are subjected to the same humiliating stops, leaving them with a negative impression of the region. Business owners transporting goods face delays that drive up costs and discourage trade.
How can the government promote tourism in areas like the Wli Waterfalls or the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary when visitors must endure multiple security checks just to get there? How can traders from Accra or Togo move goods efficiently when they are held up for no reason? These barriers do not protect; they strangle economic activity.
Harassment and humiliation by security officers
The worst part of these checkpoints is the sheer arrogance and disrespect displayed by some security personnel. Immigration officers routinely order passengers off buses, demanding they walk past posts as if in some degrading parade. Those who question these unnecessary checks are often met with hostility.
Even traditional leaders have not been spared. Paramount chiefs like Togbi Tenge Dzokoto Gligui, Togbe Nakakpo Dugbaza VII, and Togbe Drake Tsigbe IV have personally experienced this harassment and have lodged complaints. If chiefs are treated this way, what hope does the ordinary citizen have?
A call for immediate removal
Togbe Tepre Hodo IV, President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, has rightly demanded the removal of these posts. His voice joins the growing chorus of frustration from citizens who are tired of being treated like suspects in their own country. Immigration checks belong at borders, not in the middle of Ghana.
The continued existence of these checkpoints is an insult to the Volta Region. It perpetuates an outdated and discriminatory practice that has no place in a modern, united Ghana. The government must act now: dismantle these barriers, end the harassment, and restore dignity to the people of the Volta Region.
Enough is enough. The time for change is long overdue.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
